


The Trials of True Love

by Ethereal_Wishes



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-06
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-11-09 17:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11108919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ethereal_Wishes/pseuds/Ethereal_Wishes
Summary: The Charmings find out about the curse Rumplestiltskin plans to enact which will damn them all. They imprison him and sentence him to death. Belle is caught in the crossfire and chooses to stand beside her beloved because living without him isn't an option.





	The Trials of True Love

The Trials of True Love

A/AN: I was watching Still-Star Crossed, and this angsty prompt popped in my head.

When Snow White and Prince Charming had discovered Rumpelstiltskin planned to coerce Regina into enacting a curse which would damn them all, they plotted against him and used Cinderella to bind him with fairy dust. They stormed his castle after his imprisonment and found his maid, Belle. She was arrested and brought in for questioning. She insisted she was his accomplice and knew of his plot to curse everyone, but had refused to come forward with the truth because she loved him. It had all been a lie of course, and they'd both been sentenced to die. They would both be hanged in the morning. They sat side by side in a damp dark cell in the Charming's castle.

"Why did you do it? You could have your freedom, but you've cursed yourself to die with me! Recant your testimony and go free, Belle!" Rumpelstiltskin pleaded, his ruined teeth bared in frustration.

"You know I can't, Rumple. I love you, and living without you would be unbearable," Belle returned, her melancholy azure irises boring into him, shattering his heart into a million pieces.

"You foolish girl," he whimpered, gathering her into his arms, burying his head in her nape.

She shuddered, reveling in his touch. "I vowed that I would go with you forever, and I can't go back on my word," she supplied as he inhaled her invigorating scent of roses deeply.

"Belle, you knew nothing of my curse. All you have to do is tell them the truth," he pleaded for the thousandth time.

"And, I told you I wouldn't. I'd rather die than live without you, Rumpelstiltskin," she reverberated, kissing him deeply. His tears minced with their kiss, and Belle greedily drank up each one.

They broke the kiss, their lungs pleading for oxygen. He swept a cluster of chestnut curls from her eyes. "Tell me a story, Belle," he sighed, leaning against the hard stone wall as he held her securely in his embrace.

She smiled somberly, remembering the ritual she and her master had began all those months ago. They'd curl up on the settee, and she would read to him from one of the many books the castle library offered, but lately he'd requested she make up a story and tell it to him.

"Once Upon a Time...There was a princess. She was educated and well read, but most were intimidated by this, for who'd ever heard of a woman blatantly speaking her mind before? The king grew tired of his daughter's bookish ways and arranged a marriage between she and a brave knight. The princess wasn't opposed to the union at first, until she discovered the brawny knight was a total bore and cared nothing for her intellect. The princess was miserable, and as the wedding day quickly approached, she internally dreaded what life would be like for her after they married. Everything changed the day the ogres attacked, and the wedding was postponed, for the king was forced to send all of his men to battle. The princess became fretful as more and more men begun to die, and she knew she had to do something, so she called upon a legendary sorcerer, who was said to have limitless power. The sorcerer was a deal maker, and the princess was prepared to pay any price for her people's freedom. She just had no idea his price would be her," she paused, glancing into his ocher depths.

"And, how did the princess fair in the sorcerer's care?" Rumpelstiltskin dared a question.

"At first the princess loathed her master because he forced her into a life of servitude. He could be cruel, but the princess decided if she were to go with him forever, then she would attempt to get to know him. At first he was reluctant, but she kept pestering him until he slowly begun to let her in. The two of them begun taking their tea together and spent time reading the princess's favorite books. The sorcerer loved when she read to him. It changed the entire dynamic of their relationship," she almost whispered, covering his talon with her supple hand.

"Why didn't the princess leave the sorcerer when he gave her the opportunity?" he probed.

"Because she'd fallen in love with him and never desired to leave his side, even if it entailed following him unto death," she squeezed his hand firmly.

"How could the princess ever love a monster though?" he asked, blinking owlishly at her.

"Because he used his beastliness as a facade to intimidate others into believing he was cruel and unkind, but the princess saw through his masquerade. She truly saw the goodness in him, the man he kept hidden behind the monster," Belle continued, placing her palm over his beating heart. He took her free hand, feathering the underside of her wrist with kisses.

"I'll still never fathom why you continue to stand by my side," he sighed, kissing her temple affectionately.

"Because I love you, Rumple. I always have, and I always will," she reassured him, kissing him fiercely. He tangled his left talon through her chestnut tresses, deepening the kiss. A golden light filled the cell, eliciting an explosion which shook the whole castle. Rumpelstiltskin broke the kiss, glancing down at his skin which had transformed into a pristine peach hue.

"My curse," he stammered, holding his hands up in disbelief.

"Is broken because you finally believed in our true love. I'm glad because I didn't want you to die as the Dark One," she beamed, bidding him closer.

"Oh, Belle! I love you so much," he sobbed, baptizing her with his tears. They spent the duration of the night wrapped up in each other's arms. When the guards came the following morning to collect them, Belle's courage didn't waver as she insisted on holding her beloved's hand as they walked up the steps to the platform. Rope was tied around their necks. Rumpelstiltskin had a hard time standing, for the breaking of his curse had caused the injury in his torn ligament to return.

"I see you've broken Rumpelstiltskin's curse! Do you acknowledge this!?" Snow White thundered.

"I do. We share true love." Belle's voice echoed over the crowd, filling him with strength.

"Why do you insist on dying when it's clear you're an innocent? You could walk away free if you chose to do so since there's not enough evidence to convict you, yet you still choose to stand beside this scoundrel even in the face of death!" Charming's voice followed.

"Because I'd rather die with him than live without him. Sometimes we must do the brave thing and bravery will follow," she continued, clenching his hand tightly in her own, her boldness unwavering as they pummeled her with questions.

"I love you, Rumpelstiltskin, and one day we'll meet again, I'm sure of it," her words blanketed his frayed soul like a healing balm as the platform fell beneath them. He clenched his eyes shut as he felt her hand slide lifelessly from his own. The crowds booed and hissed, but their words slowly faded into the background as he fully embraced his fate. As he met the darkness, a light flickered in the distance. He gravitated towards it, for he knew she would be waiting for him on the other side.

A/AN: Yes, I'm evil for writing this, and it was heart wrenching, but I adored it.


End file.
